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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · mark · bass · field · scale · bay · pitcher · stem

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. field — for sport
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. field — farmland
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. court — of law
  9. bass — low music
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. court — for sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mark — a grade
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — of a king
  19. field — a subject
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com